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The founder and presiding Bishop of the Lighthouse Group of Churches, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, says government has been taking financial decisions for the National Cathedral project a work supposed to be done by the Board of Trustees.
This was contained in a resignation letter Bishop Dag wrote to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, copied to about 14 people including the President and sighted .
He also lamented that major decisions on the project were taken on his blind side.
Some decisions he said were taken without his knowledge include the hiring of a quantity surveyor, the decision to build a biblical garden and museum.
“To my knowledge, no quantity surveyor has priced this project and presented it to trustees for approval or vetting. b. I am unaware and therefore not involved in how the price of the project has kept changing at different times and been presented to and accepted by the trustees.
“On the one hand, the National Cathedral is said to be a Government of Ghana project, with the Government taking financial decisions. Yet, on another hand, at meetings, it is implied that the trustees have taken or participated in taking these decisions. Examples of such decisions are as follows: The decision to get a quantity surveyor to cost this project was not taken by the trustees. I know of David Adjaye as the architect, but I do not know of any independent quantity surveyor who costed the design of the architect. The cost of the project is determined by the quantity surveyor whose work would then be challenged or accepted by the client and lead to some modifications of the design. I do not know of any consultant quantity surveyor ever presenting the costs of the design given by Mr. David Adjaye for analysis,” The founder and presiding Bishop of the Lighthouse Group of Churches disclosed.
He asked to know the faces behind persons making decisions on behalf of the National Cathedral.
“Who are the unknown persons or bodies who transact this business on behalf of the National Cathedral? Should such agreements and business of the Cathedral then be ascribed to the trustees? I am unaware and not involved in how the price of the project moved from an initial cost of USS100 million to eventually become US$400 million,” he stated.
He further hinted that the trustees were prevented from answering questions to the press, and thus, only one person was assigned to speak to the public.
